Liddell Injured; Evans Fight Postponed

Apr 21, 2008 9:42 PM John Chandler

Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Update 10:00 AM ET: The UFC has confirmed that Liddell has suffered a torn right hamstring and will be unable to compete against Evans in June. Photo of Liddell’s injury here. A new main event for UFC 85 is expected to be announced shortly. - John

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell has reportedly suffered an injury leading up to his June fight against Rashad Evans, leaving him unable to participate and postponing their showdown until later this year.

According to the report, the kind and extent of Liddell’s injury is currently unknown but plans call for he and Evans to fight later this summer. There is also no word as to whether or not Evans will still compete at the event.

The main event of UFC 85 has been in trouble from the start. Liddell’s original opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, was forced to pull out of the bout after rupturing an ACL in his left knee during training. It’s an injury that required surgery and will keep Rua out of action indefinitely.

The fight was due to be Rua’s first since he was submitted by Forrest Griffin in his UFC debut in September.

Evans was originally scheduled to be fighting Thiago Silva in May before being tapped to replace Rua. The one-time standout college wrestler has not lost yet inside the confines of his UFC. Evans has been victorious in all of his bouts with the exception of a draw against Tito Ortiz last summer.

Liddell snapped a two-fight losing streak at UFC 79 in December where he won a unanimous decision over long-time rival Wanderlei Silva.